1. Field
The invention is in the field of decorative planters, particularly for indoor plants.
2. State of the Art
It is common for planters, particularly for indoor plants, to include a decorative container which receives a growing container therein with the plant in the growing container. The growing container is necessarily smaller in diameter than the decorative container so that it will fit into the decorative container. This means that there will be a space around the growing container containing the plant and the decorative container. It is then usually desirable to cover or fill in this space with decorative material such as bark, moss, rocks, dirt, or other decorative material. There is currently available from Edgewater Products Co. of Melrose Park, Ill., a synthetic moss material, described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,048,592, that can be placed over the open space in rope like fashion or in bundles that extend down into the space, in order to decoratively close the space between the containers. However, such material, if not spread and placed correctly, can fall down into the space. There is also a foam collar available from Edgewater Products Co. of Melrose Park, Ill., that is applied with adhesive around the inside top portion of the outer decorative container so that the inner container can be placed in the opening in the foam collar. The foam extends across the open space between the outer and inner containers forming a surface between the containers on which the decorative material can be placed or which itself is more decorative than the open space between the containers. However, the foam material being adhesively attached to the outer container makes it difficult to clean the outer container and foam collar, and if the collar is removed, a new collar has to be installed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,150,867 shows a top dressing support member in the form of a ring made of a pliable, flexible and bendable material. The ring opens to be placed around a plant in an inner growing container and is then closed around the plant. Fingers around the central opening of the ring are bent downwardly and stuck into the soil in the growing container to support the ring. The outer portions of outwardly extending tabs are then bent upwardly as the ring is fit into the outer container to size the ring to the inside diameter of the outer container. When fit into the container, the ring provides support for top decorative dressing materials.
There remains, however, a need for an easily installed and, because the size of inner and outer containers vary so the space between the containers varies, easily size adjustable device to cover the space between the containers and provide a surface for supporting a decorative material.